iRoadTrip
by FinaleUltimacian
Summary: The gang takes time out from their first year of college to catch up and hit the road. various pairings. , established Criffin. Rated M for safety, after deliberation with some other authors.
1. Chapter 1

**My triumphant return after a trying episode with my computer!!!!**

Three days without school, work, or my overbearing mother. Don't get me wrong, I love the woman, but it can send the wrong kind of message if the only friends a guy has are two girls, and his own mother. Well, Spencer counts, I suppose, but he's more like a brother than a friend, or anything else for that matter.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, three days of freedom. Well, almost.

I threw my duffel bag into the open and waiting trunk of Griffins brother's car, and adjusted the strap of my backpack on my back. I rounded the car and attempted to get in behind Griffin, sitting in the driver's seat. I found the door locked. Sitting on the other side of the glass was my worst nightmare, and the only reason I was not completely enraptured by the prospect of a three-day vacation from everything. Accompanying Carly, Griffin, and I would be Sam. While we had all stayed "friends" since middle school, Sam's attitude and years of abuse was really starting to get to me.

"Sam, open the door." I stated flatly. "I'm not in the mood, and we do not have time for this."

In response to this, Griffin hit the automatic lock on the driver's door, and then Sam turned to him. Whatever she said must have been pretty bad, because before I could open the door, it was locked again, and Carly was giving Sam a disgusted look. While Sam was distracted with glaring menacingly at Griffin, Carly hit the automatic locks on her door. I simultaneously whipped my door open and dove in, surprising Sam by both being IN, and being ON her lap. Sam grabbed my shirt and whipped me over her so I landed upside-down against the other side of the car. I righted myself, setting my backpack on the seat between us as a barrier.

"Hit it, Grif!" Sam yelled excitedly.

"You heard the Princess." I added, sarcastically. Sam grabbed my bag and slammed it into my chest.

"Hey, my laptop is in there!"

"Wow, couldn't go one day without your precious baby, could ya' Frednub?"

"Actually, most everything in that bag, today, is not FOR me." I stated flatly, unzipping the bag and dumping its contents into the seat between us. A cascade of bloody computer games and movies landed in the seat, followed by a twelve-pack of Peppy Cola and King Size Fat Cakes. Sam ripped into one of the Fat Cakes, giving me a suspicious look. Carly met my gaze in her visor mirror, smiling. I shrugged. Sam retreated to her side of the car, mumbling around the Fat Cake falling out of her mouth. "You get to live. For now."


	2. Chapter 2

"So…. How was the wonderful world of College this week, Freddie?" Carly broke the ice after more than an hour of silence.

"Not too bad. As expected, I am more or less TEACHING my Computer Science and World Cultures classes. The Prof's could care less. What about you Sam?" I turned to the blonde next to me. She was absorbed in some flashy violent movie on my laptop. Carly tried to get her attention "Sam! We are talking…. You know… socializing? And you didn't even take the chance to call Fred teacher's pet or anything…. You okay?"

"Oh, alright." She closed the screen and looked around at everyone. "I broke it off with Mike last night." she stated flatly.

Maybe she was smarter than I gave her credit for. Michael was one of those guys that unconsciously talked down to everyone. Some people would have called him self-assured. I called him cocky. Overall, he was an okay guy, but I could see why Sam broke up with him. I was a witness to some of their more volatile moments, so I had a bit of an insider view to why it was a bad idea to put the two of them in a room alone together.. Still, he and Griffin were the only guys I could call friends right now. So this was a bit of a blow.

"Wow, I thought you guys were really good together. What happened?" Carly asked. Love that girl, but she is a bit unobservant at times, especially when it comes to relationships. Sam looked over at me with a half-smile. I shrugged, then laughed. "What's so funny?" Carly asked. Like I said, unobservant.

"Nothing. Really, nothing happened. And that's what was wrong. We were getting complacent…"

"Puckett used a big word." I got a Fat Cake to the face for that comment.

"Anyway, as I was SAYING. The sex was great, and I mean GREAT, but it was just…. There was something missing…. So I broke it off. We're still friends. And probably friends with benefits…." Everyone in the car turned to stare at her.

"Sam, that is…." Carly began.

"Hey, don't knock it til' you try it."

"Wow, look at the shiny new change of topic." I yelled, pointing out the window, my brain near-fried from the mental image of Sam and Michael.

"Ooh, Freddie's virgin ears have been violated."

"Hey, that was only one time, and I was really drunk." I laughed. Carly and Griffin gave me a funny look, but Sam met my eyes and burst out laughing. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around. The gift for any occasion…. Ear-Fucking!" **(A/N: copyright Jeph Jacques of ) **Carly's jaw dropped, which made Sam and I laugh even harder.

"wow, I spend so much time busting Frednub's ball, I forget how fun it is to mess with you, Carls."

"That is…. You disgust me…" Carly huffed and turned to face directly forward in fake indignation. Sam held her fist up for a knuckle-touch. I reciprocated. "not bad, Nubzilla, not bad. Now mama needs to lay down." Sam set my laptop in her lap, knocked everything in the seat between us into the floor and spun, simultaneously laying down and folding her legs so that she would fit in the space of the middle and passenger side seat. She shot down with more force than strictly necessary, I revelation I only came to when the back of her head met forcefully with my crotch. I winced, but her head was blocking me from grabbing the affected area. I lay back, defeated. Sam snuggled down into the seat further, rubbing her head across my leg.

"Oh, isn't that sweet." Carly turned around and laughed, then snapped a picture with a camera that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"If I wasn't so comfortable, I would come for that picture. But I since we are gonna be together for the next three days, I think I can wait…" And with that, she passed out cold. "She looks so innocent." I ran a hand through her hair, in mock affection. Wow, I never realized how soft her hair was…." I whispered to Carly

"I heard that. Hands off the merchandise, nub." Sam mumbled, then rolled so she was facing towards the seat in front of us. "and for what it's worth, you make a halfway decent pillow…."


	3. Chapter 3

**SO this chapter gets a bit racy. And if the "activity" strikes you as particularly difficult or even impossible, rest assured, I was in Freddie's position once, and it is entirely possible to do what gets done here.**

I slowly came to my senses. Must have fallen asleep. Wasn't sure what had awoken me, so it took a minute to recover my bearings. My eyes slowly regained focus and I remembered where I was. Back seat of Griffins car with Sam, Carly, and Griffin. Okay, that explains my location, but what about those strange noises. I slowly scanned over the car, not moving anything but my eyes, since Sam was still fast asleep on my leg. My eyes settled on the front passenger seat first, where there SHOULD have been a skinny brunette. There wasn't, so I kept moving, settling on the drivers… OH MY GOD… MY EYES!!!

"Griffin, you think maybe you should concentrate on driving?"

"Oh, hey…. We wake you up? What can I say? Sometimes you gotta' multitask."

"Okay, let the record show that I stated this was a bad idea. When the cops find us wrapped around a tree somewhere, I don't want to have to explain what was going on."

Carly slowly rolled off of Griffins lap, readjusting her skirt. "you're just jealous."

"No, I'm scared for my life. Don't distract the driver."

"Oh, you know you would have done the same thing in his position. I'm hot property." Carly ran her hands down her sides seductively, leaning with her back against the passenger side door.

"While I will not deny having noticed that, I … LOOK OUT!" I yelled as Griffin swerved and came to a stop barely in front of a car sitting halfway off the road, making the guy sitting on the hood fall off in surprise.

Sam shot upright. "Wha?Who?. S'not mine officer…. Why does it smell like sex in here?"

"Now that's distracting." Carly deadpanned.

"Girls, stay in the car. Freddie and I will see what's up." Griffin stated as he opened his door. I got out and walked over to help the guy up.

"Everything cool?" Griffin asked coming up behind me.

"Yeah… well, no, but that's pretty obvious. Had a blow-out. Just me in the car, and I'm not hurtin'. Name's Sean. No spare, though… supposed to meet some friends at the gas station up the road here anyway. You think I could hitch a ride, if you're headed that way? I could maybe give you a couple gallons when we get there."

"You may have noticed the lack of options to the contrary…." I said, gesturing out in either direction towards the single 2-lane road with no intersections or turn-offs ass far as any of us could see.

"Hey, at least I asked nicely, right?"

"Yeah, come on." Griffin motioned towards our car, and Carly got out and waited next to the back door. I slipped back in and Carly sat down next to me. Sean slid into the passenger seat and turned to regard us. "Road trip, huh?"

According to Griffin's GPS, we were an hour away from town, so we still had a bit of a drive to endure with this new addition.

**NEW CHARACTER!?!?! Don't worry, he will serve a purpose. Next chapter may be very short, or very, very long, depending on whether I find a logical stopping point in the action. R & R please**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. Finally actually decided where they are going. Time to throw a few monkey wrenches into the works. Enjoy the fireworks.**

We pulled up next to the only pump at the tiny gas station in Hermiston, Oregon. Our final destination was Halfway, Oregon, and ironically, we were halfway there. The sign out front said _Papa Joe's Grocery, Voted Best in County._ I got out and went inside to check the selection. Sam trailed behind me, followed by Sean. Sam voiced what we were all thinking "Best WHAT in county? There's hardly anything here!"

A large man appeared seemingly out of nowhere from behind the small counter/register area. "You never heard of Papa Joe."

"Well, I don't see any Fat Cakes, junk food, candy…. What DO you have?"

"We meant no disrespect, sir. We're not from around here."

"Well, I can see that. Best feed the little lady." The man, who I assumed was the titular Papa Joe, produced a paper plate, piled what appeared to be hot wings, from behind the counter. "Don't sell much of that mass-produced, Processed-Food-Product crap, Make most everything from scratch. Five bucks. Whole plate. What'ya say?"

"I love you." Sam leapt towards him. I took a five out of my wallet, but Sean stopped me from handing it to the man. "I got this. And the gas. Twenty oughta' last you a while, right? Hey, papa, you got a phone I could use?" Sean turned to Papa Joe.

"Sure, sure, in the back."

"Alright, this'll just take a minute. You go out and let everybody else know what's up." Sean motioned towards Carly and Griffin still sitting in the car outside. Papa Joe handed me a 6-pack of bottles labeled Gnome. "Sean, you want us to stick around until you get a hold of somebody?"

"That'd work." Sean turned and followed Papa Joe into the back room and Sam and I walked back to the car with the drinks and wings. Half of them were gone by the time we traversed the ten feet between the store and the car.

"Sean paid for the food, AND twenty dollars in gas…. Real nice of him…."

"Yeah, nice…" Griffin was looking over my shoulder back toward the building. He sounded distracted. I walked around him and unscrewed the gas cap. I grabbed the nozzle and turned back to the car to pump the gas.

Carly was sitting in the front passenger seat leaned as far back as it would go, her feet hanging out the open door, taking advantage of the momentarily empty back seat. Griffin walked over to Sam sitting on the hood of the car, reaching for a wing. Sam growled and he retracted his hand. "Sam, be nice." Carly called lazily. I finished pumping and replaced the nozzle and cap in their respective places, then hopped up on to the trunk, leaning against the back glass, my arms behind my head. Sam of course had to break the peaceful silence. "Sure is taking his damn sweet time…"

"Somebody want to' go check on him?" Griffin asked, looking at me.

"No way, I pumped YOUR gas. You go."

"Whatever."

"Now, now, boys. Don't fight. We'll go." Carly sat up, got out and pulled Sam off the hood. They walked into the small store and disappeared into the back room in search of Joe and Sean. I slid off the trunk and circled the car to grab a wing off of the plate Sam had left on the hood. "These ARE good!" I said, handing the plate to Griffin. We finished off the wings, and then sat back down in the front of the car to wait for the girls. I heard a shrill alarm, then Sam busted out of the door, Carly's arm in a death grip as she dragged her behind her. "START THE CAR!!!!…. GO! GO GOGOGO!!!"

"What's going on!?" Griffin and I yelled as Sam threw Carly in the back seat and jumped in after her, slamming to door "just GO!!!!"

I saw what she was so excited about when Papa Joe came out a second later brandishing a large rifle. Griffin stomped on the gas, kicking up a cloud of dust and burnt rubber as we tore out of the parking lot. Glass rained down on us as a shot busted the back window, narrowly missing us before it hit the windshield. The spider-web of cracks made it impossible to see, so I pulled my feet up into my lap and kicked out at the windshield to knock it out completely.

"What was that!?" I yelled, turning around in the seat to face the two girls.

"Sean set us up." Sam stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What do you mean, set us up?" I asked.

"She means that when we went looking for Sean, we found him emptying out the safe in the back room. Joe came back and saw us standing with him and grabbed his gun. Sean ran out the back door and set off the alarm."

"And the old nub chased us instead of the douche-weasel that took all his money!" Sam added angrily.

"We fled the scene of a crime! We have to go back!" I interrupted before she could continue.

"No we don't." Sam said, suddenly very calm. Scary calm. Scared calm.

"Yes, we do." I said, getting angrier.

"Oh crap…" Carly and Sam stated in unison I turned around as I noticed that our car was rolling to a stop. In front of us was a wall of Highway Patrol vehicles. more precisely, a roadblock. "Follow my lead." Griffin whispered as he opened his door.

"What are you doing….?" I whispered after him, staring at all the officers with guns trained on Griffin as he stepped away from the car. He knelt down, and then lay on his stomach. Sam spoke first "He's giving up? We didn't even do anything… why is he surrendering?"

"I don't know… you heard him." I opened my own door and lay down next to the car. Carly was out next, followed grudgingly by Sam.

"This turning out to be a great vacation."


	5. Chapter 5

**I have a tentative plan on where I want this to go, but I am not absolutely sure how I am going to get there. Hang on for the ride!!**

The Police had us set on the ground next to Griffins car. They were taking us one by one over to the cruisers, and interrogating us.

Apparently, nothing anyone had told the police was of any use, because they had placed everyone but me in the back of two of the cruisers. Carly was placed in the back of one on one side of the road, and Griffin was in one on the other side. Another cruiser was parked dead-center on the road an impromptu roadblock. Sam was standing on top of this one, having escaped the grasp of the attending officer. Even hand-cuffed, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

"You'll never take me alive, COPPER!!!!"

I yelled from my position on the ground "Sam, just give it up. If we cooperate, they will let us go!" Apparently, in the great state of Oregon, trying to talk sense into a psychotic blonde demon is considered "resisting arrest"….

"Sir, you need to calm down and comply with our instructions. If you do not, I will be forced to detain you."

"I'm already detained…." To illustrate, I stood up and lifted my arms to indicate the handcuffs.

"Sir, you need to sit back down and remain calm."

"I am calm. I'm juts trying to help…. Sam can be stubborn."

"Sir, we do not need any help doing our job. We are highly-trained professionals. I think we can handle one teenage girl."

"You haven't dealt with Sam Puckett."

"Sir, sit down and remain quiet. I have already read you your rights. As an officer of the Oregon Highway Patrol, I am within my rights and duty to taze you if you do not comply."

"Dude…. Seriously?" My question was met with what I should have seen as the obvious outcome. In the darkness, all I saw was a small flash before I felt a pinprick in my chest, followed by the burning heat of a thousand suns erupting in every nerve of my body. Even through the 1000-volt-induced haze, I saw Sam fall off the hood of the car.

Once I regained my bearings, I yelled out to Sam "They taze you too?"

"No, nub…. That was the greatest thing I have ever seen." Apparently she had been laughing so hard that she let her guard down. She was pulled roughly off the ground by one of the officers, who turned to take her to one of the cruisers. That is when all hell broke loose.

Griffin's car leapt back to life unexpectedly. Everyone turned towards it, except for Sam, who used the distraction to break free and run away from the police. Sean had somehow doubled back and snuck into Griffins car while the police dealt with us. Now he was stealing it to make his getaway. He swerved off-road to get around the roadblock and took off towards freedom. The Police jumped into the two cars on either side of the road and took off in pursuit, leaving only one car and one cop to guard Sam and me, since Carly and Griffin were IN the two pursuing cruisers. I decided to try my luck at negotiating again. Maybe this guy would see reason.

"Sir, you have to believe me, this is all a big misunderstanding. We just picked this guy up about an hour north of here. We have no idea who he is, or that he was going to ROB a convenience store. When you catch him, ask him to tell you ANY of our names….. he can't." The officer cocked his head to one side. "Whatever you say kid." He said sarcastically.

He took hold of the radio attached to his chest. "Unit 3, please respond. When you apprehend this suspect, ask him to identify his accomplices." I took the static-filled whine as the "response" he had asked for.

"Your friend there is giving us a heck of a time. But it should only be a matter of…." His radio leapt to life. "10-50, repeat we have 10-50."

"Told you." He said smugly. After a few minutes of random police jargon, the officer looked at Sam and me, his eyes wide. "Looks like you were right. This guy has no idea who you are. Once we get everything sorted out, I guess you are free to go."

The two other cruisers came back up the road to sit besides the one remaining. When the police got out and opened the back door to one of them, they had to pull Griffin out forcefully. Putting Sean in the car with Griffin MAY have been a mistake.

"Dude, My brother is going to KILL ME! Cop-dude, let me go, I have to kill him. It's the only way."

"Sir, I cannot in good conscience let you do that."

"But my CAR!"

"No."

Unnoticed by all of us, a large man had walked up the road from the gas station, "Perhaps I can be of service." One of the police officers turned to the new arrival.

"Papa?"

"Well, since this is kind of all my fault, especially the broken windows, I think I can make amends, at least partially, by offering these kids a place to stay while the car gets fixed. Sound like a plan?" He put a hand on my shoulder.

"Uh…. Buh….what?"

"You guys can 'crash' at my place while I fix your 'wheels'? Ya dig?"

Sam laughed.

Carly and Griffin walked slowly up the road towards us as the cops carted Sean off. The remaining officer undid Sam's and my cuffs and walked to his car in silence. We began the walk back to the gas station, Joe leading the way.

**This was supposed to be one of the 'cooler' chapters, but I'm not sure HOW I feel about it. Not my best work, but I am kinda' in a hurry to get to the good part. Anyway, you know the drill. THANKS!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry to disappoint a few of my readers (GEMMA!!!) but this chapter takes place the morning AFTER the last one. Hopefully, this filler chapter is still exciting enough to keep you all here for the eventual drama and action.**

We stood out front of_ Papa Joe's_ waiting for 'his guy' to bring Griffins car back from the garage in town. Our bags were arranged on the ground next to us, providing a convenient resting place for Sam, who was refusing to wake up.

"Again , I feel real bad about this whole thing." Joe was talking to Griffin.

"I'm just glad no one was seriously injured." Griffin answered, looking over our group. I rubbed my chest where the taser had hit me, the spot still a bit sore. "Speak for yourself."

"Oh, shut up, FredNub. Remember, I've been tased multiple times, and I am just fine."

"Yeah, the jury is still out on that one, Puckett." I snapped back. Sam shot up from the ground and grabbed the collar of my shirt. Papa Joe turned to us.

"You're sure you two aren't 'involved'?" He asked, using air quotes around the last word for emphasis. Sam threw me down and spun to say something to him. Whatever she had to say was lost as we all saw Griffin's car come tearing down the road. The tires squealed as the car spun into the parking lot, sliding to a stop less than a foot from our bags. The trunk popped open and the driver stepped out of the car.

"S'all good, Papa. Glass was easy, went ahead and topped off all the fluids while I had her. Figured it was the least I could do. Let's get these kids on the road." He tossed the keys to Griffin.

"You heard him. Get goin'." Everyone else had crammed into the car already, and I was about ot get in when Joe grabbed my arm and turned me around. "Now I know I'm just some crazy old townie, but you listen up, kid. She," He nodded in the direction of the car, indicating the blonde in the back, "can deny it all she wants, but there is something there. Take care of her, and don't let her get to ya'." Then he handed me a white styrofoam container. I looked at him quizzically "Attitude like the one she's got needs lots of fuel." I popped open the container. More hot wings. I shook his hand then turned and walked to the car. I placed the wings in the cooler in the trunk and then got in next to Sam and we were back on the road….

**I keep trying to write longer chapters, and less a little less conversation, a lot more action, but it is just not coming. Anyway… **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hopefully, now that I have taken a bit of a break from writing, I can come back and finish what I started. The pace SHOULD start to pick up from now on. And things are about to get complicated. Gotta' admit, this story started as a way for me to work out some stress and old regrets, and it has taken on a life of its own. **

We rolled into the driveway at nearly three in the morning. Griffin's aunt's house was HUGE. And OLD.

"You sure about this? Like, we're not gonna' get eaten by vampires, are we?" Sam asked loudly as we piled out of the car.

"Sam, shush… it is the middle of the night. People are trying to sleep." Carly admonished the blonde demon. I circled around to the back of the car, retrieving our bags from the trunk. Sam turned away from Carly and walked backwards up towards to house, looking at me. Her eyebrow raised in confusion, then dropped back down, her face taking on its normal snarl.

"Ah, Jeeves. It is SO hard to find good help these days." She stated in a mock British accent. I was tempted to drop her bag where I stood, but that would have meant dropping the others' bags as well as my own, and frankly I just wanted to get inside and pass out on the nearest horizontal surface before I fell asleep standing up.

When we ascended steps up the front porch a few seconds behind Griffin and Carly, I did set the bags down. Griffin was absorbed in a piece of tattered paper stuck to the screen door.

"Okay, so apparently, there has been a slight change of plans…" He turned to Sam and I after tearing down the note. "My aunt had to leave…"

"Everything okay?" I asked, taking the note from him. I quickly scanned it. She had to leave on "business"… In quotation marks…

"That's… informative." I stuttered.

"Yeah, that's just how she is…. Vague as hell. It says here she'll call if she heads back this way, and that we are welcome to stay as long as we want." Griffin spun on one heel and reached up above the door to the enclosure around the porch light. It swung down on one side, dropping an army of dead spiders and bugs on us. Well, on Sam and me anyway. Carly was still up by the door.

"Dude, not cool." Sam growled, advancing on the boy. In answer, he dangled a small, shiny object in front of her.

"Spare key, man. She's kept it there for years."

"Apparently…" I deadpanned, attempting, and failing, to rid myself of all the insect carcasses and cobwebs that had collected on my head and shoulders.

We followed Griffin and Carly into the house. There was another note, this one detailing the sleeping arrangements that had been made. According to the note, blankets had been set out so that Griffin and I could sleep on the couches in the den, and Sam and Carly would be sharing the King size in the guest room. I started towards the back of the house where the den was located.

"Hey, there. Where do you think you are going?" Carly grabbed my arm.

"To bed…." I answered, exhausted.

"Not so fast…. I think this is a wonderful opportunity….." I caught a twinkle in Carly's eye that I usually only see in Sam's, and that is only when something is about to happen that will end up being very painful for me. Sam apparently caught the same thing I did.

"Oh, no…. there is NO WAY I am sleeping anywhere near the nub. He might rape me in my sleep or something."

I dropped the bags in the middle of the floor and advanced on her. "One, I would never stoop so low, and two, you should be so lucky. God knows what diseases you've picked up." She did what I really should have seen as the only thing she could do, and slapped me. "Wow, must have hit a nerve. Usually, you'd punch me in the stomach or…." I spoke far too soon, as her knee came up to meet my crotch. As I hit the floor, I heard Carly yell "SAM!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Here we go…**

I have got to work on my pain tolerance. One shot to the pills and I am down for the count. At least I wasn't out long. I hope. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Griffin leaning against the door frame, shaking his head and laughing quietly. As I scanned the room, I realized what he was laughing at. Sam was pacing around the room protesting, while Carly followed behind her, yelling and hitting her with a pillow to emphasize her words. They both stopped when they noticed me stir. Carly was already in her pajamas..

"How long have I been out?" I asked groggily. Griffin stepped into the room.

"Not too long, 15 minutes maybe." He smiled. "Long enough for these two to work out their aggression, I think." At the last word, he turned towards them and crossed his arms. Sam ducked behind Carly in mock fear.

"Wow, you must be taking intimidation lessons from Carly." I laughed, sitting up. "But anyway, now that I am up, I would like nothing better than to go to bed." I started to climb out of bed and was forced back down by the suddenly airborne Sam. "We had a talk. We're all gonna' crash here tonight. Carly, cuz she wants to sleep next to her man, me cuz I want to make sure Griffin doesn't try anything."

I stopped her there, "They already had sex in the CAR… When we were asleep…. While he was DRIVING!"

"And that is why I want to make sure they don't try anything else. If mama ain't gettin' any, nobody else is either."

"Is that why I'm sleeping in here?" I asked, smirking.

Sam raised her fist but was stopped by Carly grabbing her wrist. "You are here to make sure SAM doesn't try anything…."

"You really think I could stop her?"

Carly shrugged. "Okay, I admit it, you're a human shield. I want Griffin to wake up in one piece, and if you're here, Sam is less likely to attack him."

"Oh, I feel so appreciated."

I do appreciate it." Carly leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Now scoot. You're taking up the whole bed."

I moved over towards the side of the bed where our bags were sitting, having apparently been moved from where I dropped them before Sam rendered me unconscious. I grabbed a pair of grey pajama bottoms from the top of the bag and slid my jeans off under the covers,

"Dude, we have seen you're boxers before, it's no big." Sam stated.

"Yes, well, excuse me for not wanting to present an even easier target."

"Actually, that's pretty good thinking there, Fredlumps. You're learning. I may have to change up my game a little. Keep you on your toes."

"Sam, shut up and get in bed." Carly growled. Griffin swooped in behind her and picked her up, throwing her down on the bed. "Sounds like a plan."

"I would again like to let it be known I had nothing to do with this, and therefore, any consequences are in no way my fault."

Sam climbed into bed on one side of me, arms flailing rapidly, grabbing at every blanket and quilt laid out. "What are you doing?" I sat up.

"Keeping warm." Came her muffled reply.

"Sam, we all need those." Carly whined.

"You've got Griffikins to keep you warm."

"Okay, that's true." Carly wrapped her arms around Griffin and nuzzled into his chest, "What about Freddie?"

Before Sam could answer, I lunged out and grabbed a loose corner of one of the blankets, pulling as hard as I could. Sam pulled back harder, but since she was already wrapped in two or three others, she could not get a good grip to keep me from taking it. I rolled over to continue my tug, bumping into Carly and Griffin curled up on the other side of the bed They pushed me back over towards the mass of blankets that enveloped the blonde demon, and my other hand shot out to grab another loose corner. This had multiple effects. First, this unwrapped Sam from her cocoon. But, now we were both completely covered by the blankets. This was good. But the struggle had dropped her directly onto my lap. This was bad. I could hear Carly and Griffin laughing. "Shut up, this isn't funny." Sam and I said in unison, and then glared at each other. I rolled to throw her off me, which unfortunately also removed me from the potential warmth of the blankets. Sam grabbed the corners and pulled them in tight, then rolled over so that they were under her. "Hit the lights, nub."

I climbed over her and made my way to the light switch. I flipped off the light, but here was still enough light coming in the window from the moon for me to see that Sam had spread out under the blankets to cover the entire side of the bed. I walked over to our bags piled in the corner, arranged them around me, and draped my jacket over the whole construction, forming a small burrow. It was surprisingly comfortable, and pleasantly warm. I took one last, longing look at the bed where my three friends lay and leaned back. I fell asleep quickly, the excitement of the last few days catching up quickly and overwhelming me.


	9. Chapter 9

"Freddie."

"Mm-hah…"

"Freddie!"

I extricated myself from my makeshift fortress and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. "Sam, just let me sleep."

"That's the plan. Get up here."

"What?"

I looked up at the bed. Sam was sitting up, holding the blanket open invitingly.

"Way I figure it; this is my only opportunity for human contact on this little trip, and your only chance ever. So get up here."

I stood up and made my way slowly over. This had to be a trick. Or a dream. But why would I be dreaming about cuddling… with Sam?

"I was laying here staring at Carly and Griffin, and they just look so comfortable. I've never had anyone treat me like that. Mike… not a cuddler. Even if he had the urge, he's too damn bony. So get in here."

"This has got to be a trick."

"No trick, I promise. Blame it on sleep deprivation."

I lay down on the edge of the bed, not sure how to proceed. Sam scooted closer to me, bringing the blanket with her. She rolled onto her side, facing the others. I pulled the blankets over me, and she reached behind herself and groped for me. She grabbed my left arm and pulled me so that I was laying behind her. Spooning is the term, I believe.

"You sure you're not going to wake up, think I am some kind of monster, and snap my neck in a blind rage?" I whispered in her ear, laughing

"As long as you stop poking me in the back with that thing, we'll be fine."

"What? Oh my god. Sam, I am so sorry. It just popped up. It's late, I'm a guy…."

"Yeah, yeah. It happens. Just get little Freddie under control. If Carly wakes up, she's going to kill us both. Night Fred."

"Night, Demon."

At that, Sam thrust her hips backwards, hitting me directly in the aforementioned "little Freddie". While I assume it was supposed to be an attack, it did nothing to solve my problem, and in fact only made it worse.

"Seriously, dude. If you need to go take care of business, I understand."

"Hey, this is not my fault. I have very little control over 'him' as it is, without you thrusting your ass at me. Sorry I made you so uncomfortable. I will be going now."

Sam rolled over so that she was facing me and pushed me over so that I was laying on my back. She moved so that her head was on my chest.

"There. Now we're both comfortable."

"Speak for yourself."

"Go to sleep, Fred."

"No, this is important. I have something to say."

"Okay, okay. Get it over with."

"For two people that hate each other, we sure are… what's the word I'm looking for? Affectionate? "

"Don't think about it to hard. You're vaguely boy-shaped, and you're here."

"I…" She put her hand over my mouth

"Don't… just go to sleep." She nuzzled down into my chest and began to snore softly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Those of you, who thought everyone sleeping together was crazy, prepare to redefine your standards. You know the drill. R & R if you would please. **

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that I couldn't move my arm. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. Apparently, Sam likes to move in her sleep. To say the least. I was now laying on my right side. My left arm was pinned in between the tangled limbs of the blonde laying next to me. She had curled into a near-fetal position, Her head bowed beneath my chin, the fronts of her legs pressed into my chest. I shrugged my shoulder, testing how tight her grasp was, and noticed just where this placed my hand. The back on my hand was pressed firmly into the space where Sam's legs met. If I moved at all, she would wake up and kill me. But if I just waited for her to wake up, she would wake up and kill me.

"Well, isn't this just adorable." I heard Carly's voice behind me.

"Help?" I squeaked.

"I heard most of you conversation last night. Should have warned you then that the reason no one cuddles with Sam is because she tends to molest people in her sleep. Learned that the had way." She laughed, then I felt her place her hands on my shoulder and tug, extricating me from my precarious situation. Sam kept right on snoring quietly. I rolled out of bed. "Curled up like that, she cannot be comfortable…."

"You'd be surprised. You know claustrophobia? Sometimes I think she's got like, the exact opposite of that. Like she wants to be as small as possible."

"Right, right. I think I understand. Anyway, I need a shower, badly. That long in a car, all the excitement, and then just crashing when we got here, I feel… well, you get the point."

"yeah, yeah. Hurry it up. We have an hour before sunrise and it takes forty-five minutes to get to the nature preserve. You take long showers. I want to watch it there. So scoot!"

"You're one to talk."

"Scoot!"

I stumbled in the near-darkness over to our bags and retrieved my shower necessities; Washcloth, towel, combination shower gel/shampoo/conditioner, toothbrush... anyway. I walked into the small bathroom and turned on the water to let it heat up. I set all my things on the back of the toilet where I could grab them once I was in, and stripped down. I stepped into the shower and let the water wash over me, enjoying the sensation for a minute. When I reached out of the shower blindly to grab the bottle of soap, I was surprised to find it missing. I opened the curtain a bit and was surprised to see Sam sitting, reading the bottle, wearing nothing but a towel.

"Shoulda' figured you for the shower gel type. Soft and girly."

"How did… I …. You….uh?"

"These old locks are no match for me. Plus Griffin has the key, remember? This is the only shower in this old rat hole. Now get back in there and turn around. DO NOT LOOK!"

After a few seconds of enjoying the water again, the curtain rattled behind me. Sam backed into me, yelping.

"Small tub, ain't it?" She handed me my shower gel behind her back. "Make it quick. It's not quite as warm outside the direct stream here."

I laughed, but squeezed out a small amount of shampoo and rubbed it in. After a thorough rinse, I stepped further towards my end of the small tub and noticed a small hitch in Sam's plan. "How are we going to switch places without…"

This could not end well in any way.

"Just back up slowly, turn around when I tell you, and DO NOT open your eyes."

I backed up and stepped slightly to the side to allow Sam to pass behind me and into the stream of water. When I hit my foot on the edge of the tub, my eyes shot open in pain for a split second. In that split second I saw what should have been my last sight on this earth. My gaze rose quickly to meet Sam's. One hand shot across her chest, the other down over her crotch. "Pervert. You're just lucky I need both hands."

"Hey, you wouldn't even have known I had my eyes open if yours weren't."

"You… okay, you got me. Gotta' say though, I was wrong."

"About what?"

"You're not just 'vaguely boy-shaped'. Mama approves."

"What?" I exclaimed, before the realization hit me. I grabbed my washcloth and covered myself hastily, stumbling backwards. I ended up tripping on the edge of the tub, and grabbed for the nearest solid object to steady myself. Unfortunately, that object was Sam. We tumbled out of the tub and fell to the floor, the shower curtain ripping down and wrapping around us in our attempt to get up. Just as I freed my head, I saw the bathroom door fly open and in flew Carly and Griffin.

"Are you okay? We were loading the car and heard a crash. Where is Sam? She came back in earlier but we can't…" That is when Sam freed herself from the curtain and stood up. Naked as the day she was born. She calmly retrieved her towel from the rack, wrapped it around herself and strode into the bedroom. Carly and Griffins jaws dropped simultaneously. Both of them looked at me, Carly with anger burning in her eyes, Griffin with what can only be described as awe. Carly turned on one heel and marched out of the bathroom, beginning her tirade against Sam. Griffin held a hand out to help me up, holding my towel out in his other. Once I had stood and wrapped my towel around my waist, Griffin finally spoke "Dude, you are the man."

I shrugged. "This was all her idea. She said there was only one shower, and we needed to hurry."

Griffin cocked his head in confusion. "My aunt has her own bathroom. Upstairs… Sam asked me about it before she came back in from helping us load the car. She said she had to get a shower herself."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for the wonderful comments and words of encouragement. Hopefully I can keep the quality up and continue to satisfy myself and my readers.**

After quickly dressing, I followed Griffin out to the car. Sam was sprawled across the back seat, fast asleep. We all got, at most, 3 hours of sleep, and Sam spends most of her time sleeping anyway, so this came as no surprise. Carly sat in the front passenger seat looking frustrated. As I climbed in, I lifted Sam's head gently and slid under her, placing her head on my lap. "You get any answers, Carly?"

"No. She didn't even acknowledge that I was there. Just got dressed and came out here. Passed out before I even got in. What happened back there? Whose idea was that?"

"Do you really have to ask? I already told Griffin. She came in, saying that we needed to save some time, and that there was only the one bath…"

Carly interrupted me "But she JUST asked Griffin…."

"I know." I looked down at Sam sleeping soundly in my lap, absently running a hand through her hair. I had to admit, even when she was… no, ESPECIALLY when she was trying to kill me, she was very pretty. That gleam in her eye. Danger. It scared me, and excited me at the same time. Probably something to do with my incredibly sheltered upbringing. Sam is unpredictable in a far too predictable world. I need to wear baggier jeans.

Sam's eyes shot open "Benson, what did I tell you about controlling yourself?"

"Hey, you're the one with your head all nuzzled into my crotch. Not my fault. Purely a biological response."

"Oh, just admit it already. You want me."

Sam, you frighten me in ways, and to a degree, so sever that there are no words to describe it."

Sam bolted upright, and moved across the back seat to stare out her window as we rolled down the road. In the early morning darkness, I could see her face reflected faintly. She looked confused, and even a little hurt. I reached across the seat and put a hand on her shoulder. "Sam, I …"

Her hand shot up to grab mine in a death grip. She moved my hand from her shoulder "Don't touch me."

"Sam..." I moved to put my hand back.

"Don't… touch… me."

"Damn it, Sam. What is your deal? You have tormented me day in and day out for the last five years. I think I deserve an answer. What is this?"

Carly turned in her seat to face us. "That's what I want to' know."

"Leave it alone, Carly." I snapped. Carly jerked as if I had hit her. Griffin interjected.

"Now, now, children. I will not hesitate to turn this car right back around." We all had to laugh at that. We rode in silence for a time Carly looking directly forward, Sam and me looking out our windows and away from each other. Which is why I did not notice Sam's hand until it was over top of mine, fingers interleaving between mine. I turned to say something, but Sam, who was still facing away from me, looking out her window, shook her head and cocked it to the side, motioning towards our friends in the front. In her reflection, I saw the beginnings of a smile. I pulled my hand from under hers and she frowned, until I turned my hand over and slid it back under hers, lacing my fingers in hers. She turned to face me, her whole face lit with a smile.

"Alright folks. We're here." Griffin pulled into the small clearing next to an old picnic shelter. "And not a minute to spare. If we hurry, we can make it to the lake and watch the sunrise from there."

We all dashed from the car, racing through the path Griffin led us down. As we neared the lake, the path widened, until we came to a short cliff overlooking the lake.

"Wow, Griffin. This is awesome." Carly caught up to her boy and wrapped her arms around his waist. I skidded to a stop and turned to make sure Sam had made it down behind me. I watched helplessly as her left foot snagged on a root sticking up in the path before she could come to a full stop at the bottom. I leapt to try and catch her, watching her foot twist awkwardly under her, and pain flash through her eyes. Before she hit the ground, I caught her by one shoulder and softened her fall. Using me as support, she stood back up and strode toward where Carly and Griffin were standing.

When she took a step forward, putting weight on her left foot, her leg just seemed to give out underneath her. I caught her from behind and slid under her shoulder to help her over to the edge. "Guys, Sam had a bit of a fall. My moms' med kit is back in the car. I'm going to take Sam back to the shelter and make sure she didn't break anything.

Carly turned and regarded us skeptically, but her gaze softened when she saw me holding Sam up, and Sam actually letting me.

When we reached the foot of the hill after a few feet, I stopped and stepped in front of her. "Piggyback?" I offered.

"That'd work, I guess."

Griffin walked up behind us "You need any help?"

"Nah, I got her." I bent down so that Sam could place her arms around my neck. After straightening back up and taking her legs under my arms, I took a tentative first step. Griffin stepped in front of me. I cocked my eyebrow at him.

"I said. I've. Got. Her."

"Okay." He raised his hands in an 'I surrender' and backed away towards Carly and the cliff. "And watch your step!" I called behind me as I made my way back up the hill, laughing.

"So what's this all about?" I asked Sam when we reached the shelter. I dropped her on the bench of the picnic table and walked over to the car, opening the driver's door to hit the trunk release. I circled around the car and retrieved the supplies, then walked back to the table.

"Just been doing some thinking." She answered flatly. I raised my eyes to meet hers. 'I know, me thinking, surprising, isn't it?"

"About what?" I inquired.

"My life. Carly. You…"

"What about me?"

"Why do you do all this?"

"All what?" I asked, confused.

"Put up with all our crap. Me AND Carly. For years now, you have let us walk all over you, use you however we saw fit at the time."

As I gathered my thoughts, I picked up Sam's leg and examined it for any visual damage. No discoloration. That's good. Minimal swelling. Even better.

"You're leg looks good."

"Now, now, don't distract me by flirting."

"No, I mean, it looks like you just twisted your ankle. No permanent damage. RICE should fix it right up."

"Rice?"

"No, R.I.C.E….Rest…" I sat down and placed her leg in my lap "Ice…" I picked up the bag I had prepared from the cooler and med kit ",Compression…" I began wrapping an Ace Bandage around her leg, making sure it was tight, but not tight enough to completely cut off circulation, "And finally, Elevation." I moved her leg and sat it on the tabletop, which forced Sam to lie back. I moved to sit on the ground next to her so that our heads were level, so we could continue our discussion.

"It's called 'White Knight Syndrome'. Depending on who you ask, it's a real mental disorder."

"What?" She turned her head to look directly at me.

"I have to save people. Help 'em out, at the expense of my own safety, health, and well-being."

"That's…. dumb."

"You know that whole 'chivalry' idea? The medieval lords and ladies, courting, damsel in distress crap? It's like that, but worse."

"That makes no sense."

"Hear me out. I subconsciously enter into relationships with women who are broken or vulnerable in some way. Who have some problem they are dealing with, and I feel this overwhelming drive to fix it. Whether I can or not."

"I don't need to be fixed." Sam placed her arm on my shoulder. "But thanks anyway."

"See, that's just the thing. I can't help that I do this. It started with Carly, just innocently. I wanted to make sure she was never hurt, or sad, or anything. And then it slowly started to envelop you, too. I have lived the last five years trying, in vain, to keep you and Carly as happy as possible. Carly has Griffin for that. It's not my place. And everyone else thought you had Mike for that…."

"Yeah…. Mike's not exactly the nurturing, knight in shining armor type."

"I know… that's why I never faded into the background, as much as I really wanted to. I wanted to be there, if you needed me." I turned so that I was facing her. I went to continue my explanation but was interrupted by her lips crashing into mine. She wrapped the arm on my shoulder tightly around my chest, pulling me to her. I attempted to back away, but she only pulled tighter. After a few seconds, she relented, and let me regain my breath. I looked at her silently, taking in everything and trying to process.

"I… well, we… Carly and I took… take… advantage of you. That's wrong of us. I don't want to just 'use' you, when I need an out, something to distract me from my crap-sack life. It's not fair to you, or to me. You deserve better. I… well, I don't."

"Then I think I might have a solution. I don't need someone better. I don't want someone better. I want you."

At that last word, she rolled off the bench, her legs bunching beneath her, like a predator about to pounce. That familiar gleam was in her eyes.

"What? No wonder I couldn't find any real damage to your leg. You manipulative little…" whatever I was going to call her was lost as she tackled me, knocking me onto my back next to the table and kissing me forcefully again.

**So what do you think? And no, this is not the end…. I figure, since it's M, I might as well throw in a reason for it to be so…. so next chap, depending on my mood and feelings, might be a little 'raunchy'… might even switch up perspective for a chapter or two and describe what Griffin and Carly are up to in Sam and Freddie's absence, if you guys want me to? Comment, review, and let me know. **


	12. Chapter 12

**So I figured that since I have gone this long in just Freddies' POV, it makes no sense to switch it up now. **

Sam moved to straddle my hips, and then resumed kissing me. I felt something wet hit my face and pushed her up so I could look her in the eye. I reached up and wiped away the tear that was running down her cheek. "Are you…crying?"

Sam shifted atop me and lay with her head on my shoulder. Her breathing was noticeably heavier.

"Sam, I know you and language aren't exactly friends, but you can talk to me, if you need to."

She began slowly,"It's been… I've never… Carly is…" She laughed quietly "Can I start over?"

"Take as long as you need."

'Thanks." She kissed my collarbone, through the fabric of my shirt, then kissed my neck.

"I'm not 'broken."

"I never meant to imply that."

"Fair enough. It's just… if we are… whatever we are, we're equals. That is what I need. Not another 'victim' and I sure as hell do not need someone to swoop in and fix my life. I need a partner. A confidante, if you will."

"Big words, Puckett? Maybe I have been helping. So, what's the plan, partner?"

"Well, we could kiss some more…."

"I like that plan." I was surprised when Sam moved one hand under my shirt, running it over my chest.

"Or…" She pulled my shirt up to expose my chest and moved down to begin kissing it.

"You think this is a good idea? Carly could come back at any minute." I asked, panicking slightly.

"Would serve them both right, after the stunt they pulled on the way down here." Sam answered, sitting up and pulling her shirt over her head, leaving her in just a dark red sports bra.

I propped myself up on one elbow, wrapping my other arm around her waist, pulling her stomach towards me. "You make a compelling argument." My lips met her stomach. She put a hand on the back of my head, pressing me into her further. After a few seconds of this, I pulled back.

"You look comfortable, think I'll join you." I maneuvered and removed my shirt the rest of the way as Sam moved to straddle my hips again. She ground into me softly, a quiet moan escaping her lips. I placed one hand on her back as I ran my other down her side and over her stomach. When I reached the fabric of her bra, I hesitated. She looked down at me and smiled, which I took as a confirmation. I continued my upward motion, moving my hand in a circle from her side over top of her breast to the center of her chest.

"Why a sports bra? Not that I am surprised, but…"

"It's just easier. I'm always on the move, and it's easier to keep the girls under control in one of these than it is in a normal bra. They aren't exactly… small."

"Not saying I have spent a lot of time looking at your chest, and no offense, but they never seemed unnaturally large to me."

"Because I wear one of these all the time. Keeps 'em contained."

"I must admit I did not get a good look at them in the shower earlier. You have piqued my curiosity."

"Oh, I have? You know what they say about curiosity."

"I've always been more partial to dogs, myself."

Sam took a second to catch up to my logic then slapped me playfully on the cheek. "Benson, you are a dog."

"As long as you don't make me wear a leash..." I cocked one eyebrow and smiled "All the time."

Sam leaned back, surprised. "Now that is an exciting thought."

"You scare me sometimes."

"Hey, it was your idea." She snapped back in fake anger. "If you don't start being nice to me, I'm going to put my shirt back on."

"Now that is something I just cannot stand for. These…" I put my hands on her breasts "are far too beautiful to be in hiding." I moved my hands down to her sides, suddenly self-conscious.

"Freddie, I believe that comment has earned you a fitting reward." With that, she quickly removed her bra, exposing her chest to the world, and me.

"They are a little bit bigger than I thought they were." I said, a little more excitedly that I had planned to. I moved my hands back up along her sides, admiring this new perspective. I stopped when I reached the sides of her breasts.

"Well…" Sam sighed impatiently. That was all the encouragement I needed. I moved my left hand to her back, running the other softly over her breast, enjoying the sensation of her skin under my fingers. When I reached the center of her chest, I ran my hand back the way it had come, a little harder this time, stopping to circle her nipple with my thumb. She moaned softly, and bit her lip, throwing her head back. I moved my hand down to cup the underside of her breast, while leaving my thumb to its previous task.

Sam dug her fingernails into my shoulder in ecstasy. I just stared at her face, admiring the expression I had never had reason or desire to see until now. She looked down at me, leaned down and whispered. "Like what you see?"

"That is a fitting reward, I would say."

"Oh, that's not your reward. Not all of it, anyway." She slid her hand down my chest, stopping at the waist of my jeans. "These are in the way." She slowly undid the button of my jeans, and slid her hand in, running it over the fabric of my boxers. "These too." She moved back, and then stood up.

When she was off of me, I stood slowly. "So…" I began, a little confused.

"You've earned it." She smiled, leaning back against the picnic table. She had her hands at the waist of her jeans, slowly undoing the buttons.

"I'll be right back." I turned and ran to the car. I had left the trunk open, so I grabbed a couple of blankets that Griffin kept there for emergencies. I returned to the table and kissed Sam lightly, then pulled back, shrugging.

"So…"

Sam took one of the blankets from me and spread it on the ground in front of the table. She crouched down next to the blanket, ran her hand over it and nodded "This'll do fine. And you can cover your pasty white ass with the other one." She laughed and looked up at me. "I don't even have to ask this, knowing you're mother, but you did come prepared for any possibility, no matter how remote?"

I pulled my wallet from my pocket. "A boy can dream, can't he?" I retorted, pulling a small square of plastic from the middle pocket.

"Good boy." Sam laughed, taking the condom from me.

**Didn't want to make you guys wait for another chapter, but am not really in the right state of mind right now to continue this. I will write more when I am inspired. Knowing me, that'll be later tonight, but still. Anyway, enjoy.**


	13. Chapter 13

Sam took the condom from me and opened it.

"Good brand." She said off-handedly.

"I am in no position to ask how much 'field research' you've done, so I'm just going to shut up now." I sat down and looked up at her as I slid my pants down below my hips.

"Oh, no Benson. This may be your reward, but you've still gotta' do some work. If you're good, maybe I can take top for a while, but we are starting this little adventure properly." She lay down next to me, sliding her pants off with one hand, while her other reached over and slid the condom onto me, then took hold of my arm and pulled me over to her. I kneeled in front of her, mentally and physically preparing myself for what was about to take place.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet. Take me, Benson, take me hard." Then she laughed. I am not sure whether it was intense desire, or frustration that spurred me to action, but I inched forward until I was just outside her opening, and then thrust myself upon her hungrily and entirely. She gasped and threw her head back.

When I withdrew a little to continue, her hips rose from the blanket, as if she did not want the sensation to end or change in any way. I placed one hand on the back of her neck, pulling her hair lightly, forcing her to look me in the eye. Her eyes were half-lidded, her lips curled in devious smile. She dropped her hips to the ground and allowed me to take up my own rhythm, driving into her harshly, and then pulling back slowly to begin again. She arched to meet my lips with her own, moaning and whispering. After a few minutes of this, her eyes shot open, and she laughed, regaining her composure.

"Where did you learn how to do this?" She asked, beginning to rock her hips in time with mine.

"Your guess is a good as mine. Natural talent?"

"I'll say." With that, she closed her eyes and threw her head back again, propping herself up on her elbows for a new angle of entry. Apparently, this one was even better, as her previous string of moans and whispers fell silent, to be replaced by hard inhalation, as if she were preparing for some grand finale. I redoubled my speed and effort, wrapping an arm under her, pulling her towards me as much as I was pushing forward. She looked up at me and took hold of the back of my head, pulling my hair hard as I felt her muscles start to constrict around me. Our eyes locked together as she sucked in one last breath of air and then let out some kind of cross between a moan and a growl, deep in her throat. She smiled up at me, trying to catch her breath.

"Good work, Benson. You'll do."

"Not to ruin the moment, but what are we going to tell Carly? This can't wait. You remember hat happened when we just KISSED and didn't tell her. Just imagine what this will do."

Sam wriggled out form underneath me and stood up, replacing her discarded clothing. When she had put her pants and bra back on, she turned back to me. "When they come back up, we'll talk. Fair?"

"Fair." I pulled my pants on and stood up. I walked over and wrapped my arms around Sam from behind, pulling her to me. I worked my way around from the back of her neck, planting kiss after kiss from there to just beside her throat. She gasped. "You are just full of surprises, Benson. You know just what buttons to push, and just how to push them."

"I have spent the last few years deep in study on the dangerous predator, _Puckettus Samanthus. _I must admit, I do take a certain pride in proving my theories correct in practice."

"Then, by all means, Dr. Benson, please share more of this research."

"Gladly." I spun her around, and pushed her back so that she fell slightly to sit on the table top behind us. I positioned myself between her legs and resumed kissing her, sliding my hand down her stomach and along the waist of her jeans. I pushed in and down, running my hand along the edge where her leg met her body, until I reached the soft curls hidden there. I ran my hand over them softly, watching the reaction on her face. She bit her lip and smiled, then burst out laughing.

"Stop that. It tickles."

"I know." I moved my hand down further and began massaging her there, driving the heel of my hand roughly into her. Her eyes shot open, then closed in pleasure. Since my back was to the path down to the cliff, and Sam was otherwise engaged, neither of us noticed Carly and Griffin making their way up towards us.

"Hey Dr. Benson, hows the….. Oh my God!"

I spun around, yanking my hand out of Sam's pants, her eyes dropping in disappointment.

"No, don't let me interrupt anything." Carly approached us angrily.

"Hey, not like you were gonna' give the boy any play." Sam stated quietly from behind me. That seemed to take some of the ire out of Carly as Griffin walked up behind her.

"Hey guys… what's going…? Have you guys been hanging around Gibby again?" Griffin laughed and wrapped his arms around Carly from behind.

"Seriously, what is going on here? You two have been dancing a round each other ever since we started this trip."

"Since we met actually." Sam peeked from behind me, scooting forward and wrapping her arms around my torso. "Sweet talker, this one."

"Must be, to land one such as you." Carly laughed.

"He's not the only sweet talker apparently." Sam spun sideways and slid off the end of the table and next to Carly. She wrapped her arms around the brunette and nuzzled into her neck. "Mind finishing what he started, since you so rudely interrupted?"

Griffin pulled Carly back, out of Sam's grasp. "As exciting as that mental image is…. Actually, that's too good to pass up." Griffin threw his arms up, pushing Carly back towards Sam. She spun to glare at him. "Only if we get to watch you and Freddie."

Griffin and I locked eyes and shivered visibly. "Never mind." We said, in unison.

** So what did you think? Satisfactory? Y'all have been wonderful with the reviews so far, so keep em' comin'. Thanks.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, so I am trying to convey that being with Sam has boosted Freddie's confidence and self-esteem, just as being around her used to have the exact opposite effect. I think I did okay…. Oh, and bonus points to whoever can figure out what I have been watching, which Freddie is quoting from, and why what Carly says triggers the monologue. **

After Sam and I put all our clothes back on, we helped Carly and Griffin get stuff out of the car so we could eat lunch. After setting the table up, Sam and I took our seats on one side, while Carly and Griffin sat across from us. We ate in silence for a few minutes before Carly had to say something.

"So… now what? I mean, how did this happen?"

I put down the sandwich I had been working my way through and collected my thoughts. "It was kind of inevitable, wasn't it?"

Sam scooted closer to me "He couldn't resist my feminine wiles."

"That's not how I remember it." I turned to Sam and she punched me in the arm.

"I have a rep to maintain. Shut up." She said in mock anger.

"Long story short, we got tired of dancing around the obvious. Sam made her move, and I made mine."

"The shower incident… the whole cuddling thing. Faking a leg injury to get you back up here alone. Why all the games, though?" Carly reasoned, turning to Sam.

"I have a rep to maintain. Couldn't have you all thinking I had gone soft over some nub. No offense." Sam kissed me on the cheek. "I wasn't sure how you would take to the news of your sidekicks getting it on." Sam smiled deviously at Carly.

"Getting it…. You? oh my God." Carly stood up, near hysterics.

"Saw this coming." Sam turned to me, and buried her head in my shoulder, stifling a fit of laughter. I nodded my head towards the blankets that were still lying at the end of the table. Confusion flared in Carly, as awe overtook Griffin again. He eyed Sam, as if sizing her up.

"Eyes up, friend." I reached across the table and forced his chin up. "She's mine."

"Hey, hey, didn't mean anything by it, just… thinking."

"Dangerous pastime, that." I took another bite of my sandwich, satisfied with my show of bravado, however unnecessary. Carly sat down forcefully across from me, the confusion in her eyes still smoldering. She looked at Sam.

"I really do not understand. Where did this come from? You… and him?" Carly looked from Sam to me, then back "and YOU!" She pointed at me "You never stand up for yourself, let alone anyone else. When did you get all manly and impulsive?"

"Thing is, there's this woman nearby who makes me do all manner of crazy things. This…" I waved my arms in front of me to indicate the two women "is an unhealthsome gig. It's stupid. Doing something stupid so you can be near the woman you love- well, that's the kind of stupid I don't mind." I stated, smiling self-assuredly

This little outburst made both Sam and Carly fall silent and stare at me.

"Sorry, something you said reminded me of something I read a while back… can't remember what. Proximity to this one…" I put my arm around Sam and pulled her into my side "may have fried my brain a little."

"You are such a nub." They said in unison.

"So you two…." She pointed at the blankets.

"Oh, yeah." My smile spread over the entirety of my face as I recalled the events of a half hour ago.

"I'm going to regret this, but how was it?" Carly asked in a flat tone. Sam and I both cocked our heads in confusion.

Sam began speaking "…Pervert."

"What? I'm curious."

"No, you're a pervert." Sam laughed.

"Ah, give the girl a break. She sees two people as attractive as us, having fun sexual adventures and can't help but be curious." I turned to Carly "and you had sex in a MOVING vehicle… a very quickly moving vehicle… That kind of trumps the great outdoors, as far as sexual deviancy."

"That is true. But that's not what I was talking about. I mean, you two. How was it?"

"He's okay." Sam piped up.

"Just okay?" I asked, hurt.

"Okay, you're great. Really great. But, you never 'finished'." Sam turned to me, using air quotes on the last word.

"Whatever. It's no big deal."

Carly reached across the table and grabbed my t-shirt, and then locked eyes with Sam. "Never let him out of your sight. You found the perfect man."

"Hey lady. Hands off the merchandise. You had your chance." Sam put her hand around Carly's wrist. "More than once."

Carly sat back, hurt in her eyes. "I was joking. Jeez."

"Now girls, There is no need to fight over me."

"Seriously though, what do you see in each other that you didn't before?" Griffin asked, finally adding constructively to the conversation.

"Honestly, we both knew it was there." I answered quickly. I turned to Sam, as if asking if she wanted to continue. She did.

"He's watched my back since the beginning. He never judged me, like everyone else did." Sam looked at Carly, apology in her eyes. "Every chance I gave him to run away, everything I did to drive him off, he came back for more. I thought he was just too obsessed with you to care that I was making his life hell. What's that old saying? 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?'."

Carly started to respond, but I interrupted her "Honestly, I don't feel that we have to justify anything. Even to you. But, I feel I have to get this out in the open, before it starts a fight between any of us. Sam," I turned to the girl next to me, taking her hand in mine and looking into her eyes "You will never be just a consolation prize. What I feel for you is real, and is a reaction only to you, not driven by jealousy, or a need to 'keep up with the Jones'. We will never be anything but us, and that's perfect as far as I am concerned." I turned back to Carly "satisfied?"

"I am still confused. That's a lot of talk, but none of it was an explanation. This is just…"

Sam stood up angrily. "He already said we were not going to justify this to you, and we don't need to. We don't need your permission. God, Carly; Maybe you could be happy for us?" Sam climbed over the bench and started walking towards the path to the cliff. I jumped up to follow her, but Carly ran over and grabbed Sam before I could get to her. "I'm sorry, all right. This is just all so sudden. Two days ago, I thought you hated each other. I am happy for you, I promise." Carly turned around and looked at me "I'm just worried. It's what I do. I worry."

"And take long showers." Sam added, near whispering. Carly laughed and pulled Sam into a hug. "Yes. That's my job, to worry about you guys and to take long showers."

I walked over and wrapped my arms around both girls. After a few seconds, I spoke. "Maybe we should work off some of this tension with some physical activity."

"Okay, I can't tell if you're being a nub, or a pervert." Sam chimed in.

"Just a nub, this time. What I mean is we should go hiking. It's a beautiful day, and we don't have any other plans, or reason to leave."

**I need ideas for Truth or Dare for Freddie to answer/perform a couple of chapters from now. Please leave some in the reviews. Or message me directly if they are a bit more on the "mature" side.**


	15. Chapter 15

**So yeah…. Sorry about the long hiatus. Had to get my life straight. Kind of fell off the iCarly wagon for a while, but decided I would try and continue this story when I STUMBLED onto it….. As in, I was using the Stumble on Firefox and MY OWN STORY came up…. That's pretty cool if you ask me.**

We set off from camp down the trail we had taken earlier to watch the sunrise, my bag loaded down with various "essentials." These included our bathing suits, towels, a blanket, and my own personal addition of a small selection from the First Aid Kit. With this group, it paid to be crazy prepared.

"I do not remember there being any kind of swimming area mentioned in the brochure…. It's a nature reserve…" I protested to no one in particular as the rest of my group slowly gained distance in front of me. "Seriously guys… this was my idea in the first place. Take it slow, enjoy the scenery."

They stalled for a few seconds so I could catch up, then Sam turned. "I always figured you for the type that would rather hide out in the basement and play with your computer than be out here communing with the beasts."

"I try to avoid the 'beasts' as much as possible, but I do have to admit a bit of a 'hippie' streak. Something about forests has always drawn me in…. in all the times you stole my laptop over the years, you never noticed that my wallpaper was always some forest scene… or the various projects I had involving nature?"

"Was afraid of what I would find looking too closely at your 'private stash'." She said with a laugh.

"I'll have to show it to you some time, if you're interested."

"Sounds cool." Sam answered, spinning on her heel to rejoin Carly and Griffin in front of me.

"Hey, wait…. Somebody please give me some explanation why you made me pack our swimming stuff? There isn't anywhere…" Realization hit me as we neared the cliff we had attempted to watch the sun from earlier. Over the lake.

"Okay that answers that question, but how do we get down there, and where were you planning on…." My second question was answered as Sam turned and grabbed me roughly, spinning me around and opening my bag. I saw the pieces of Carly's suit fly over one shoulder and heard Sam shuffling behind me. I started the turn and she placed a hand hard on my shoulder "Turn around and you die."

"I already saw everything earlier…"

"Yeah, and I want it to stay a treat for good behavior. Now stay put."

After she was done putting on her suit, she pulled on my shoulder, spinning me around again, presumably to keep me from watching Carly change. Her shirt had been replaced by an orange toned camo bikini top. She had running shorts on over her bottoms. She watched my reaction to the sight from behind dark sunglasses.

"Honey, you do not have to worry about me trying to look at…." I noticed that the angle Sam was standing at gave me a near-perfect view of what was behind me in the reflection on her glasses. Apparently I had gone slack-jawed, because Sam cocked her head to the side and reached up, snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Looking at what…." Then she took off the glasses and looked at them. "Oh. You sneaky little pervert." Her reaction surprised me. "Okay, if that's the way you wanna' play." Sam spun me around, rummaging in my bag again.

"Starting to get dizzy, Sam." The constant motion was apparently the distraction she needed to enact her plan as I felt her hands reach around my waist. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, it's only fair."

"What's only…? AAHHH!" She had quickly undone my jeans and yanked them down, my boxers following obediently. Carly screamed as Griffin leapt in front of her, presumably to shield her eyes from the sight Sam had revealed. After a second, I flet Sams arms snake around my waist again, something dangling from her hand. My trunks.

I yanked them out of her hand, and quickly extricated myself from m jeans, replacing them with the blue trunks.

"Okay. Now that you've got that out of your system, maybe some one can answer my question? How are we going to get down there?"

Griffin strode up confidently "Easy. And you're going to leave the bag here…." With that he spn around and approached the cliff looking over into the distance, deep in thought. He took Carly hand, who motioned for me to come forward and take her other. I slid my bag off, still confused, then took Sam's hand and joined our friends on the edge of the cliff. It was about 30 feet down to the calm surface of the lake. I looked all over the horizon for a possible path down from our current position. I caught a small smile from Sam and Carly on either side of me. For someone as smart as I claim to be, my brain really does not process near fast enough to keep me safe where these girls were involved.

With no warning, I felt myself being pulled forward, then heard Sam and Carly both scream in a mix of pure joy and crazy pants-wetting terror. I joined in, the seconds seeming to ooze slowly by while simultaneously rushing by before we hit the surface of the water like four badly manufactured darts slamming into an even more shoddily-made board. You think water is soft? Try hitting it after an attempt at double suicide-homicide by your supposed best friends.


	16. Chapter 16

**Trying to keep the creative juices flowing, so here's the next chapter.**

I fought to regain my equilibrium, finding it hard to discern up from down in the turbulent water surrounding me. I looked towards my feet, using them as a landmark. Light streamed past my feet, so I assumed that I had ended up upside-down, but just to be sure, I looked "above" me, and was greeted with a seemingly bottomless darkness. Okay, so that is one mystery solved. I righted myself and struggled my way to the surface, my lungs beginning to burn from lack of oxygen.

I gulped air as my head broke the surface, my eye adjusting to the sunlight as I searched for any sign of my friends. I saw no sign of them, other than the ripple in the water from our violent and unexpected entry. I spun in place as I heard a gasp behind me, but whoever it had been had gone back under before I saw them. As I started to turn again, Carly and Griffin broke the surface hand in hand, laughing. "Okay, whose crazy idea was this? We could have been killed. Do you even know how deep this lake is?" I launched into an angry tirade at the couple treading water in front of me.

Griffin swam forward so that we were face to face "Dude, calm down. You're fine, I'm fine, and the ladies are fine. It's all good."

"Yes, but what if something HAD happened? What then?" I got as close as I could without actually touching the taller boy in front of me.

"But it didn't, so drop it?"

"No. It was stupid and dangerous, and frankly, I expect that from Sam, but at least one of you two needs to act like you have a brain in your head, I cannot be the only voice of… Carly, why are you laughing?"

Carly turned away from Griffin and I and swam away faster than I was comfortable with, so I moved to pursue her. I was stopped dead by something attaching itself to my left ankle. This seemed to be more important than chasing after Carly, so I stopped and tried to look through the water for what it could have been that had attached itself to me. There was no telling what kind of big ugly fish we had pissed off by jumping in here. I tried to pull my leg up but whatever had taken hold of me kept me from moving it very far, so I bent over and tried to look at my leg, only to be spun head over heels under the water as the offending creature quickly and violently surfaced, releasing its grip on my leg as it passed over me. I quickly righted myself and fought back to the surface, sputtering and spitting water. "What was that?!" I screamed to Griffin, who had turned and was swimming for his life away from me. Whatever it was had gone under again, hiding itself from me. I felt something brush against my leg and my hand shot down reflexively. My arm was captured as my leg had been and I was pulled under. I felt myself spun about so that I was facing towards the surface, with whatever had pulled me under now above me. I felt the same soft material that had brushed against my foot touch my face and my eyes shot open just in time to see Sam coming towards me, her hair fanning out around her, shining in the underwater sunlight. Her lips crashed into mine, and I had to fight not to gasp in surprise, since then I would probably drown. I wrapped my arms around her and kicked my legs, moving back to the surface so we could continue our current activity without risk of horrible watery death. I broke away from her, gasping for air. "Okay, so you scared the hell out of me. I thought some big angry fish was trying to eat me or something. And I couldn't find you either."

"Didn't seem too concerned when you were yelling at Griffin."

"That's why I was so mad. I thought something had happened to you."

"Well, I appreciate the concern, but I'm good."

"So… was this all your idea, as I suspect?"

"Nope. The cliff-diving was actually Carly's idea. Makes mama proud. And like Griffin said, we're all okay, so chill."

"Okay, okay. Can we get back to what we were doing a second ago?"

"Hey, you were the one that stopped." Sam closed the distance between us and captured my bottom lip in her teeth before I could form a fitting rebuttal. I wrapped my arms around her waist under the water, slowly kicking my feet to keep us afloat. Sam pressed against me, bringing her legs up to wind around my waist. Her weight shifted my balance so that instead of treading in place, we were now slowly moving across the water. I moved one arm under her leg, closing what little remained of the distance between us so that we were in contact at every possible point. The water rippled around us, washing over Sam's shoulders in small waves. I broke contact with her lips and opened my eyes to look at the young woman wrapped around me. "I hope it's not too soon to say this…" I began to say. Sam rolled her eyes.

"You are such a sap. But I saw this coming. And all it took was a near-death experience and a romantic swim… I am so good."

"As I was saying…" I laughed and kissed her again before continuing. "I think I might love you."

"You 'think' you 'might' love me?" Sam asked incredulously. I couldn't tell whether she was acting hurt or I had actually offended her.

"Let me clarify. This is all really new to me. I have never been 'IN' love. At least, I don't think so. This is different. You're different. Than any other girl I have ever met."

"That's not really an apology. Or an explanation, Benson."

"I can't really explain it. This just… you… feel right. Perfect. So let me go back and edit my earlier statement. I love you." Sam's eyes lit up as she smiled at me,

"I... love y….European swimsuit models."

"What?" I understood why she may have covered her words as I felt a rush of water over my head

"Hey lovebirds!" Griffin yelled, splashing us again. Sam pulled away from me, and swam towards Griffin, who turned and swam off quickly. I joined the chase, my mood much lightened by Sam's near-confession. And to think, the very thing that was now making me happier than I have been in a very long time was what I thought would ruin this whole trip.

**So how am I doing? This was one of my favorite chapters to write so far, and it can only get better from here. **


	17. Chapter 17

**I am kind of "meh" about the end of the last chapter. I am Happy with it, but I felt like the last paragraph/sentence was awkwardly worded. Whatev. Anyway, on with the festivities. Hopefully I can get through this part with a straight face. I have to be in a certain kind of mood to write what's coming, and it's been kind of hard to maintain that particular mood lately, so I apologize if I end up just glossing over the "good stuff." **

The four of us swam after one another, chasing and splashing for about an hour before we all started to wind down. We regrouped and found a shallow pool surrounded by large smooth rocks forming impromptu back support to rest against. I leaned back against the rocks and let my head fall back, looking up into the sky and absorbing the last few hours. Sam surprised me when she settled back against my chest, facing away from me between my legs. I brought my head back up and watched Carly take the same position with Griffin across from us.

"So now what?" Carly asked, looking around.

"I don't know, and I don't care. We have not stopped moving all day, and I just want to relax." Sam leaned back so that her head was on my left shoulder. I brought one hand up to her side and rubbed a small circle. A quiet moan escaped her lips and she closed her eyes and forced her head harder against my shoulder. Carly cocked her head and gave me a questioning look. "What?" I asked, confused.

"That is disgusting."

"What?"

"Hands, Benson." Carly glared at me.

"What… what about…. Oh!" It took me a beat to realize what she thought was going on. Since we were all half-submerged, all she could see was Sam's reaction, and possibly the movement in my shoulder, since Sam was sitting in front of me.

"You thought I… no… I would… not…"

"You had no problem with it earlier."

"We were alone then. I may be a freak, but I am not an exhibitionist."

"Well too damn bad for you." Sam moved off of me and towards Carly, pulling her off of Griffin and saying something too quiet for me to hear. Griffin looked just as confused as I did, when Sam came back and grabbed my hand, pulling me from my rocky seat and away from the other couple who had taken up a very intimate position against the rocks. "I thought you wanted to relax?"

"I am relaxed. You're not. Not that I should be surprised, but you seem a little tense… still coming down from the 'Oh god, we're all gonna die' high? I get that and I think I have a solution."

"You'll have to excuse me if I continue to fear for my life. Experience says any solution you come up with has a tendency to blow up in my face."

"Funny you should mention that."

"Mention what?" I asked, my nervousness rising as we neared another small pool and Sam spun me around and set me against the side of the lake. Sam just laughed, took a deep breath and dove under the surface.

I felt her hands working their way up my legs, then over my shorts, to stop at the drawstring. Her head broke the surface and she took another breath as she untied the string and worked the shorts open. My eyes widened in surprise as she moved her head down to join the work her hands had begun on what was under my shorts. She took me in one hand and began a slow rhythm. After a few seconds, her moth replaced her hands, impressively maintaining the same rhythm. I threw my head back in ecstasy and moved further back into the rocks to steady myself as she continued. I did not know how she got so good at this, and frankly probably would not like the answer if I did. So instead of focusing on the negative, as I tend to do, especially when it comes to the blonde demon currently working me over, I went ahead and took her advice and relaxed. Enjoying the show, as it were. The surface of the water was murky, but clear enough that I could see the back of Sam's head, her hair floating out around us. Just as I was beginning to near the inevitable, she resurfaced for air.

"So, relaxed yet?"

I laughed stupidly "Yeah… that was awesome."

"Was? I am not done yet. But I do need to breathe, and while I am up here, I will warn you. Just remember, it is common courtesy to let a girl know when… y'know… Kablooey!" Sam raised her arms in a mock explosion.

"I know that."

"Just checking. I honestly have no idea how 'experienced' you are. The answer would probably scar me."

"You're one to talk."

"You'd be surprised."

I laughed "Damn, you must have been busy this semester."

Sam reached under the water and retied my shorts, then turned and swam off. I swam after her, grabbing her trailing ankle. "What did I say?"

She turned to me, wiping her eyes quickly "Stupid water."

"Okay, I hurt you. But… well, okay I understand why that was stupid, but…."

"You really don't…"

"Fair enough. Maybe we should just get it all out then. If we have any chance of making this work, we may want to slow down and 'begin at the beginning'. We kind of skipped a few steps."

"Hey, we've known each other nearly half our lives."

"True, but still. Maybe we ought to talk about all this, get it out in the open."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Sure I would. When it comes to you, I've learned to suspend belief. And if it will make you more comfortable, I'll go first."

"You think maybe we want to take this to dry land? You make me mad again and I may just drown you."

I turned back towards the alcove we had occupied earlier and pulled myself up onto a protruding rock, then extended a hand to help Sam out of the water. She looked at it, scoffed and pulled herself out of the water and sat facing away from me. She spoke softly, "Well, get on with it."

"This last year or so has been a real eye-opener, hasn't it?" I began. "College changes things. All the ideas you have about life get challenged immediately. I had resigned myself to being alone throughout college, just as I was alone through school. Turns out there are plenty of women… well, not plenty, but enough to keep my occupied… anyway, plenty who would rather sleep their way through college than actually apply them selves and get the work done. And me being me, I wasn't going to turn down what I thought was a good deal."

Sam turned back towards me, staring. "Our little Freddie… a man-whore. Details, man, details."

"That's really all there is to it. But none of it meant anything, believe me"

"I don't care if it did or not. Past is past, dude. You belong to Mama now."

"And I am still not sure whether that is a comfort, or a death sentence."

"Mama takes good care of her man, just ask Mike." The mention of Sam's most recent ex got me back on track. "I understand why you would get mad, but seriously, you are so open about all this stuff, I just assumed you were, y'know… open."

"As far as all that stuff goes, I am not near as experienced as you seem to think. My track record has been unchanged for years. Mikey was the first guy outside the circle."

"But you never…. With any of those douchebags in school… did you?" I asked, her answers only confusing me more.

"Oh, I have experience; it's just a little closer to home than you would probably be comfortable with." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to me. "When I was younger I was…confused. About a lot of things."

I interrupted her. "You're not about to confess to a torrid affair with a teacher, are you? Some creepy older dude?"

"Oh, both of them were older, and one of them did teach me a lot about life, both before and after our little… 'Affair' as you call it."

"Only two men? Okay, and pleased don't be offended, but that is surprising."

"Yup. Only two… men."

I did a double take as the meaning of her last statement sunk in. "Okay, before we move on to what THAT particular sentence means…. Did I know these guys?"

"You still do."

"So they were friends from school."

"You could say that."

"But the only guys I still talk to from school are Gibson, Neville… the thought of you and either of them sickens me to a great degree…. Griffin… oh my god…. That's why you didn't want to tell me."

"Bingo. Rod, tell him what he's won."

"Like you said, past is past. But that still leaves one guy… and the only guy both of us know that we still talk to is… Spencer? When?"

"Last year. It didn't last long. It was a mistake, but we are cool."

"Fine by me. I may never be able to look at Spence in the same light again, but that is not a bad thing. And besides, if he was this 'teacher' you speak of; remind me to thank him when we get back to Seattle."

"You are such a perv."

"Then you know what my next question has to be. When you said only two guys, I know there is more to the story. And I'm guessing that more is Carly."

"Wow, batting 1000 today, Benson. Maybe you are as smart as everyone thinks."

"I saw this one coming. People experiment. It's cool. And well…. My current obsession and my childhood crush getting it on is an attractive concept." Sam slapped me on the side of the head. "You cannot tell them that I told you. I don't actually know if Griffin ever told Carly, and I sure as hell don't want to come between them. About Spencer, do not bring it up. Ever. To anyone. That was the closest Carly and I ever came to ending it."

"Whatever you say."

"Okay then. Are we satisfactorily confessed now, Father Benson?"

"That is creepy on about a thousand different levels."


	18. Chapter 18

**I shoulda have been in bed two hours ago. But the versions of the gang that I have given life to are too busy running around and playing in my head to let me rest.**

The sky was darkening quickly as we swam side by side to rejoin Carly and Griffin so we could begin the trek back to the car. Unsurprisingly, they were so absorbed in one another as to be oblivious to our approach. Carly was straddling Griffin as they made out heavily, and from the slow rocking motion, it seemed they weren't just making out. A familiar devious grin crossed Sam's face and she cocked her head at me, seeking approval and cooperation. It was good to see Sam getting back to normal after what had been a far from normal day. It was even better not to be the target of her usual antics, so I gladly joined whatever plot she had hatched.

Sam pointed down, then made a grab and pull motion. We waited until Griffin leaned forward into Carly, so that he would not smack his head on the rocks when we enacted our plan, and then dove simultaneously under the surface and closed the remaining distance between the other couple and us. Avoiding the scene only a few feet in front of me, I grabbed his left ankle while Sam took the right. As soon as we made solid contact, we switched back the way we had come and pulled the entwined lovers out into the lake. When I resurfaced, Griffin was spitting water and cursing, Carly was red with anger, and Sam was laughing so hard she was having a hard time staying afloat. I took her arm and held her up until she caught her breath and joined in the laughter.

"That was awesome." We stated in unison. We looked at one another, shrugged and high-fived. When Sam's hand touched mine, I quickly entwined my fingers in hers and pulled her all the way to me, kissing her roughly. I felt a hand on my shoulder and was yanked away from Sam.

"If I don't get any, neither do you, brother." Griffin stated flatly.

"Sounds fair. Maybe we should be getting back to the car. Looks like rain. Been an exciting morning, it can only get better from here."

We swam as a group to the edge of the lake and began searching for a way back up to the trail, and from there, to the car. No obvious path presented itself, so I began searching for less steep areas of rock that we might climb.

"Remind me again why it was a GOOD idea to take a 30 foot leap off a cliff?"

"You got some." Griffin said with a smile.

"Good point."

After a few minutes of searching, I found a small alcove formed where two rock faces came together that had formed a shallow indentation on the larger cliff face. Above that was a slow incline dotted with large rocks. If I was careful, I could probably put one leg and arm on both side and spider-crawl up the rocks until it opened up. I explained my thought process and brought the others to show them what I meant. After a short deliberation, it was decided that the girls would go first so that Griffin and I could to catch them if they lost their footing. Carly would go first, then Sam, then me, then Griffin.

Carly braced herself against either side with her back up against the rock wall, and began her ascent. Sam was hiding her eyes, looking incredibly nervous.

"Take it slow and steady, don't rush, and MAKE SURE you're footing is solid before moving again." Griffin instructed, moving to stand under her once she had moved far enough up. The three of us remaining on the ground watched nervously as Carly continued her climb. I noticed Sam was shaking. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just cold." She answered quickly. I put my arm around her shoulder and huddled close to her.

"Dude, get off me. You're shirt is freezing cold. Why didn't you take it off?"

"You people never gave me a chance before we went screaming down here. Seemed useless after it was already soaked. That and I want to avoid sunburn. I don't tan, I barbeque."

Well take it off. You'll be warmer, and so will I."

"Whatever you say, princess."

"Hey, just trying to be a concerned significant other."

I struggled out of the shirt as it fought to stay stuck to me. I heard Sam's muffled laughter as it stuck over my head, pinning my arms above me. I heard Griffin join in the laughter then "Dude, keep it on. Your stomach is blinding."

"He's just jealous. Come on, you can do it!" I heard Sam say in mock encouragement.

"Yeah. Maybe you should be paying attention to your girlfriend, you know, the girl dragging herself up the cliff up there."

Apparently the sight of me trying to point upwards when my arms were already stuck there was too much to handle as I heard something hit the ground, followed by a peal of high-pitched laughter.

"Guys, quit screwing around down there. I am trying to concentrate." Carly called down. She sounded pretty far away, so I struggled quickly the rest of the way out of my shirt and looked up. She had almost cleared the completely vertical portion and was inching her way back towards the edge of the cliff.

"Way to go Carly!" We all yelled. Griffin looked back down at Sam "Next in line, please."

Sam strode forward confidently, but I noticed that her smile was forced. She got in position and braced herself against the cliffs. She looked over at me, then smiled for real, but it lasted only until she started up the cliff. She made it just above our heads before she seemed to freeze in place. "Sam, you okay down there?" Carly called.

She didn't answer. "Sam, what's up?" I called up.

"I am…." She answered meekly. I had to laugh at that.

I wanted to say "don't look down." But life had taught me that anyone in this situation will do exactly that. Sam Puckett would do it, just to be contrary. So I reworded my instructions.

"Just look straight ahead. Look at your hands, look for good handholds, and take it slow. You can do this."

She began to slowly inch her way up, her gaze directly ahead out into empty space. I was about to say "just don't think about it," but again, you say that, and the person starts thinking about exactly what you told them not to. SO I stayed silent, just watching her progress. Carly peeked over the edge of the cliff, waiting nervously for her friend to get within arms reach. After what seemed like forever, Sam was nearing the top of the cliff and Carly reached out wrap one arm around her shoulders. Suddewnly, the rock that Sam's right foot was braced against broke free from the face. Griffin and I watched in horror as she began to slide down the cliff. She stopped suddenly after only a foot or two and we breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Carly had reacted just quickly enough to grab the back of Sam's top. It was a good solution, but would not last for a few reasons. Unless Sam could find another rock to brace against, she would start falling again as soon as Carly loosened her grip. Secondly, I was afraid that…. And it happened.

The strings that tied Sam's top ripped out and Carly lost her grip. Sam braced quickly against the wall. Griffin and I watched as what was left of her top fell and landed on the ground between us. "If I either of you look up here, I will jump down and kill you both."

We stifled our laughter and looked at one another, watching to make sure neither one looked up at the spectacle above us. Apparently, Sam's embarrassment won out over her fear of heights because the next thing I knew she was yelling down, "Alright, hurry it up. It looks like it's going to start raining.

"Coming, my sweet!" I called, laughing.

"EW!!!" Sam and Carly yelled simultaneously.

I ascended quickly, my climb being much less eventful than the one before it. When I reached the top, I quickly stripped off my shirt and offered it to Sam.

"It should be a little warmer now, it's drier."

She snatched it out of my hand and put it on quickly.

"Aw, isn't that sweet." Carly giggled.

"Shut it Shay." Sam snapped.

Griffin was up in no time, pulling himself effortlessly up onto the cliff.

We circled back around to where we had jumped in, retrieved my bag and rushed back to the car just as the sky opened up.

"So much for staying dry…." Carly deadpanned as we climbed into the car, spreading towels over the seats to minimize the damage.

**So the end was rushed. Sorry 'bout that. More to come.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Got some good feedback on the last few chapters, so this story may take a slightly different direction than I intended originally…. And may span a little more than just the 3 days of the trip, if need be to resolve a few pressing issues. Also, I have no idea if it even rains like that in Oregon, but for the ake of the story, it does….grrr**

It was a dark and stormy…. Mid-afternoon. **( A/N: Sorry, cliché, but too tempting to pass up) **In the time it took us to get back out to the main road, the light summer storm had increased to a torrential downpour. I gazed out the window, my fingers running over Sam's knuckles on the seat between us. I was doing the old "count to five' trick to track the storm. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and before I coul;d even get through "1.." a loud roar of thunder shook the car. "Sounds like we're right in the middle of it…." I observed off-handedly.

"Joy…" Sam stated sarcastically. Carly turned around in her seat and addressed us both "Just do what I do…. Sleep through it."

"Carls, Only YOU could sleep through a THUNDERSTORM." Sam ribbed.

"You're one to talk. You spend more time sleeping than you do anything else."

"A girl needs her beauty sleep."

"It's not working." Griffin snapped out.

Sam looked at the boy, a flash of anger quickly replaced with a grudging respect. "Timing; A+, Content;… hmm, B-… Target; F." Sam stated simply. "Don't fuck wit the Jedi Master, son."

"So you don't take it nearly as well as you give it?" Griffin retorted with a sly grin.

"Okay. Everybody, shush. I am going to sleep before this gets out of hand. Freddie, keep these two from running the car off the road with their fighting."

"The way I remember it, you were not too worried about the car running off the road when YOU were involved." I declared.

"That's different. Now shush."

With that, she was out.

We passed the next twenty minutes in silence, until we came upon a rest stop just outside of town. Sam leaned over and whispered something to Griffin, who nodded, and slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. This could not end well.

"I've always wanted to pull this on someone, never had the chance. Until NOW!" Sam declared with barely suppressed excitement.

"Let the record show I was against this. I don't want to know…" Sam opened her mouth to explain and I put my hand over it "Just get it over with. But I had no part in this. Remember that."

Griffin pulled into a parking space and got out, leaving the car running. I noticed then that we had parked nearly bumper to bumper with a semi. The details of Sam and Griffins plan started to come together in my head. This was going to be bad.

Griffin was standing next to the drivers side of the truck, talking to a large, hairy man draping a beat up leather jacket above his head who I assumed was the driver. After a few seconds, he climbed into his truck, as Griffin came back to the car. Sam and Griffin both rolled down their windows and stuck their arms in the air, then down. The trucks headlights flared to life, followed by the roar of an engine nearly the same size as the car we were in, followed closely by the piercing screech of an air horn. Sam and Griffin erupted in hysterics, screaming their lungs out. I could not help but join in as Carly shot upright, saw what was in front of us, screamed, grabbed Griffins arm, screamed again, then noticed that we were not, as she had obviously assumed, involved in a head-on collision with a big rig. Sam turned to me and shrugged. I whispered "Okay, good one." A discreet low five was exchanged, then we turned to the frazzled brunette who was busy beating on her boyfriends arm. "You suck, SO MUCH… that was NOT funny. You guys, I thought we were gonna die. That was…" She ran out of breath and broke down crying.

"Sorry, Carls. You should know by now not to fall asleep around me. Bad things happen."

"This is true. Now can we get home so I can get a hot shower?"

"Now THAT is a good plan." Sam winked at me.

Here we go again.

**Indeed.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Figured this was the perfect chance to reference one of my favorite movies, kind of. Can you catch it?**

After the "Semi Scare" Carly made me switch places with her before we left the rest stop so she could finish her nap in peace.

Griffin looked back at her and smiled, "No sense in passing out now, we're almost back to the house."

"Good thing too. This storm is getting worse." I observed, gesturing out the window at the midnight black sky around us.

"Dude, it's just a little rain. We're cool." Griffin retorted.

"I for one have been unexpectedly wet far too often today." I snapped. Sam commented from the back seat. "I was just as wet as I needed to be, I'd say."

"You disgust me." Carly said, half asleep, her head in Sam's lap.

"Let's just get home."

Griffin had turned back and was concentrating on something in the road ahead. I squinted through the rain to try and get a look for myself, but the rain and darkness were working together to blind me. I turned to Griffin.

"What is that?"

"I don't know."

"It looks like a goat."

"Why is there a goat in the road?"

"How should I know?"

"Well…. It needs to move."

"No chizz."

As we got closer, the goat loped across the street and into the countryside. Things went unexpectedly smooth for nearly five minutes. We rounded a wide corner in the road and there, in the middle of the road at the end of the turn, was the goat. Griffin did not have time to stop, so he swerved to miss it. We went flying off into the field beside the road. The left side hit the ground first, so that the car turned up onto its side and skidded to a stop in the soft mud of the field. I checked myself for any obvious injury then called out to everyone else "You guys okay?"

Griffin mumbled a response, followed by Carly screaming.

"A little late for that, honey." Sam responded calmly "Now scoot over so I don't fall on you when I…OOF."

Since the crash apparently had jammed my seatbelt, I was stuck facing directly forward, suspended in the air. "What's up, everyone okay?"

Griffin stirred, and then looked around, "Well, at least we didn't hit the goat." He said groggily.

"What goat?" Carly asked.

"Uh…. Grif, I think you may be losing it. I didn't see any goat." Sam laughed.

"I saw it." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, well, you're crazy, so it's okay."

"Seriously. There was a goat in the middle of the road."

"Whatever…. Just don't move."

"Why… what are you…. OOF!" I fell out of my seat as Sam cut the belt holding me in, landing roughly on top of Griffin. "Where did that knife come from?" I asked

"I never leave home without it."

"I will keep that in mind. So… now what?"

"First, GET OFF ME!" Griffin yelled from beneath me.

"Not sure how to do that, bud. The door is up there, and it's still storming. Maybe we should call somebody."

"You know the number of any tow trucks in Oregon?" Griffin snapped.

"Hey, you're the one that ran us off the road, genius!" I snapped back.

"I didn't want to hit the goat."

Sam and Carly screamed from the back seat "There was no goat."

"Yes there was!" Griffin and I yelled back. We all started yelling at each other trying to be heard over everyone else. This went on for nearly five minutes before Carly let out an incredibly high-pitched screech that silenced us all.

"This is getting us nowhere. Sam, get that blanket that was sitting in the floor, we are going to walk down this road until we find some one or something to help us. Now let's GO!"

"Yes mother…" Sam and I mumbled in unison, looked at each other, and then laughed.

"You have got to stop doing that; it's starting to creep me out."

"Sorry, mother."

I stood up, careful not to step on Griffin, and opened the door out into the rain. I worked my way up and out of the car, and then got behind the car to try and open the backdoor so that Sam and Carly could get out. When I opened the door, the first thing to come out was Sam's head, covered by the ratty blanket that Carly had requested. I offered my hand and helped her get out. She shifted the blanket so that I was under it a little then turned and began helping Carly out. We backed away from the car as Griffin worked his way out, falling face-first into the mud as her freed himself from the car. I stepped out from under the meager protection offered by the blanket and helped Griffin up. "You okay there, bud?"

"I'm good, just didn't have a good grip, since I was holding onto this." He handed me a large metal flashlight.

"God, you could brain an elephant with this thing." I observed.

"Not the first time I have heard that… We live such odd lives, don't we?" Carly laughed.

"Let there be light!" Sam exclaimed, and we were on our way. The only thing we saw for over half an hour was more road and more fields. Apparently, the lack of scenery was getting to everyone differently. Carly was moving around nervously, shifting the blanket every few seconds. Griffin was tossing the flashlight back and forth from one hand to the other. Sam was humming. It took me a few seconds of listening to figure out what song it was, before I joined in by busting out the nearly forgotten "extra verse"

_I can see the flag fly_

_ I can see the rain_

_ Just the same, there has got to be_

_ Something better here_

_ For you and me-ee-ee_

Sam fell silent, and stopped her forward progress, which forced us all to stop unless we wanted to get wet, seeing as how we were all under the same blanket. "How... oddly appropriate, Fredward. Very impressive. Care to continue?"

"What are you talking about? What was that?" Carly asked, painfully confused. Instead of answering her, I joined Sam in singing the chorus. When we finished, Griffin surprised all of us by singing the next verse. When he got through the second "_Into my life"_, I had to comment "you're just not quite… scary enough to do that justice. Good attempt though."

"Now I am really confused. WHAT are you people smoking?"

"Seriously, Shay? A bro like Spencer and you've never seen Rocky?"

"That old boxing movie? There's no singing in Rocky…well, Eye of the Tiger, but I don't think that counts." Carly contemplated.

"Rocky HORROR" Sam corrected.

"That horrible movie they show on the week ends downtown?"

"That's the one."

"Okay, Yes, fun, exciting. Let's get moving. I'm cold, I'm wet and I'm just plain scared." Carly said, annoyed. The three of us all stared at her. "You're sure you've never seen it."

"Yes, I am sure, now scoot!"

**I wanted to keep going from here, but this is a good stopping point, and I am exhausted. Hope to have the next chapter up before work tonight.**


	21. Chapter 21

"Did ANYONE think to grab their phone before we crawled out into this storm?" Carly snapped

"Shut up….There's a light." Sam snapped back

"Are we gonna start singing again?" I laughed.

"No… there's a light up there. A house or something."

We stepped up onto the ancient, cracked concrete porch. I stepped out from the warmth provided by my friends and the blanket, approached the door, and knocked. After a few minutes of loud rustling from the other side, the door opened a few inches. A voice emanated from the small opening. "Hello?"

"We were wondering if you might help us. You see, our car broke down a few miles up the road. Do you have a phone we might use?" I inquired.

"You're wet."

Sam stepped forward agitated "Yes." She gestured behind her into the darkness. "It's raining."

"I think you'd all better come inside." The door opened a bit more, revealing an emaciated man. "Walk this way." He turned and hobbled down the hall.

We followed the man into the back of his house, while I tried to keep from laughing at Sam's attempts to 'walk this way' by impersonating our host's gait. Griffin was humming the Aerosmith tune and had a firm grip on Carly hand. Our host turned back to us once we were gathered in his small kitchen.

"Have a seat." He seemed much healthier in the harsh light of his kitchen. His kitchen on the other hand, did not. The chair he pulled out form under the table looked like it would fall apart if he let go of, so we remained standing.

"It won't bite. Neither'll I. Names Rick. Give me five minutes and I can do you one better than a phone. I may not look like much, but I am a hell of a mechanic. I'll get my truck and we can get your car in my garage and out of the rain. Save you some time and money."

Griffin stepped forward, offering his hand "Whatever you can do is awesome by me. How much am I gonna owe you?"

"We'll just have to see what the problem is, and anything I gotta order from out of town'll cost you a bit, but if you're as picky as I am and that being not very, this oughta' be cheap and fast for both of us."

"Like a night with your mom." Sam punched me lightly on the arm, a smile spreading across her face.


End file.
